The Future of Advertising and AI

#MakingBank: S3E42 with Rich Schefren

On this week’s episode with Rich Schefren, some pretty big statements were made regarding the expansive possibilities AI and data acquisition can lead to. We’ve nearly entered the time of the trillionaire, “a time where the opportunity is more profound for greater success than ever before. But also a time where more small businesses go out of business than ever before.” If what Rich says is true, what entrepreneurs do now in regards to artificial intelligence will determine which side of the chasm they end up on.

Are you prepared? What do you need to do to stay ahead of the curve and take advantage of data, big and small for your company?

Rich outlined three key steps to develop personalized marketing — where a machine figures out how to serve the individual next. It’s no longer just about analyzing how many hits your site gets, but who specifically is clicking, how they got there, if they are returning, etc. You’re looking for a feedback loop that allows you to improve your performance over time to convert more, sell more, and attract more people.

There’s a lot to be learned, but the best place to start is…

Capture the Data

“What people really need to understand is that data is the new currency and most entrepreneurs do not even possess their own data.” Your data is your insight and with advertising shifting from contacts to identify you’re going to need that insight to discover the individual you are personalizing your marketing for.

For bigger companies, check out CDP: Customer Data Platform. It is software that creates a customer database, which pulls clean data to build an individual customer profile. Think of it as the “cheaper, wider, faster version of DMP.” The platform pulls data quickly and then makes decisions. “It’s your CRM system, talking to your analytics, your email files — who’s opening, talking to your web files — who’s coming onto your website. It’s all integrated.”

For smaller companies, you wouldn’t go down the CDP road yet, but you still need to focus on analytics. Use Google Analytics or an analytic service of your choosing that will pull clean data. Then…

Automate, Automate, Automate

Focus on automation. You need to have automation in place so that when the AI makes a decision, emails are sent automatically — there’s no lag time of you sitting down to create content. It’s a matter of going through the process of fine-tuning your CRM, automation, and analytics so each informs the other. Finally…

Study the Trends

Get educated! Seek out the newest information so you understand how AI is evolving and how to incorporate it into your SOP. Rich recommends reading Artificial Intelligence for Dummies or Big Data for Dummies at the very least. Always be learning, or you’ll be operating off obsolete tech and you will be out-vied or worse — extinct and quicker than you think.

These are the first steps in developing your AI strategy, but there are tons of tools out there to incorporate for small businesses. Get curious, research lists, and play around to find which tools increase performance, focus on the individual and deepen your people based marketing. Also, keep an eye on new platforms so you don’t miss an opportunity to get in early as a brand advertiser before the platforms grow and make it difficult to advertise!

For more from Rich Schefren follow him on Facebook or check out his website StrategicProfits.com.